1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information exchange system in which a plurality of users can transmit and/or receive messages via a network, and in particular, to an improvement of a message displaying method.
2. Related Art
In recent years, with the advancing technology in communication networks, information exchange systems, in which multiple users can transmit and receive messages with each other using the same network, is widely used. An example of an information exchange system is a chat system. In this example, multiple users have a common communication area (i.e., the same network) by utilizing an IRC (RFC 1459) protocol, etc. in order to transmit and receive messages among one another. Hence, users in the common communication field can observe the contents of messages originated by themselves, as well as the contents of messages transmitted by other users in the same communication field. That is, information exchange can occur while confirming messages transmitted from multiple users who are a part of the same communication field.
During information exchange in, for example, a chat system, a user who is participating in the communication does not always have to proffer his/her opinion. However, the user is only allowed to participate in messages transmitted from other users when actively a part of the common communication field. An application interface for a chat system is provided in, for example, (Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. HEI 10-154117). A communication field in which users proffer therein opinions, and a communication field in which users only refer to messages of other users, can be displayed for identification. Messages in the “opinion” communication field can be transmitted and received while monitoring the contents of messages issued in the “refer” communication field.
The '117 reference discloses that the “opinion” field communication is defined as a main-channel, and the “refer” communication is defined as a sub-channel. Contents of the opinions issued on the main-channel and sub-channel can be identified through respective displays, on different display areas. An opinion area, transmitting messages to the main-channel, is displayed near the contents of the main-channel. Contents of messages issued in the channel designated by users, on the other hand, are displayed in the sub-channel. The channel designated here can be designated in a plurality of channels.
In the chat system described above, conversation from person to person is also possible. However, it is necessary to provide an individual common communication field (one common network) for each conversation partner. Additionally, a system may be provided wherein a user of a chat system has the ability to utilize various services that have been previously registered, thereby allowing various services to be used throughout the chat system. In order to transmit and receive requests and responses for these services, it is also necessary to participate in the common communication field.
Hence, the number of common communication fields (common networks or channels) increases per user, and the number of common fields designated for each reference will be increased depending on the number of conversations from person to person and the increase of services used throughout the common communication field. At present, the number tends to increase depending on the use of networks.
An increase in the number of common communication fields for reference purposes indicates that the amount of opinions displayed in the sub-channel area of the related art has also increased. Moreover, in the exemplified chat system, when different users are present on the main server, individual connections for each user are required. In this case, a plurality of windows for transmitting and receiving messages corresponding to the users are displayed, thereby narrowing the display area for manipulation of other applications.